Different learning tools are available within virtual learning environments, including forums, quizzes, and ePortfolios. This article investigates perceptions of helpfulness and ease of use of these three tools, including how they are impacted by learner characteristics and what predicts frequency of use of each tool. Critically, the relationship…

Universities are charged with educating students from diverse backgrounds, including ELL students, nontraditional students, military students, first generation college students, and students with disabilities. In order to meet the wide variety of learning needs and abilities in the college classroom, teachers must find innovative methods for…

The use of Chats has been extended to mobile-learning (m-learning) environments in the last decade. Students and teachers can communicate in real time and they do not need waiting till their next tutoring date to solve their problems and doubts. However, Chats have many accessibility barriers and many students cannot use this collaborative tool.…

Online family education can be challenging but rewarding for both families and practitioners. Parents of children with disabilities are integral in fostering children's early development and in promoting independence across the life span. Practitioners and parents working collaboratively can enhance this development. Collaboration between parents…

This article describes a study of online educators' use of technology as part of the accommodations they provided to students with disabilities at their school. Specifically, research focused on four teachers who were members of an interdisciplinary team in a large virtual school program, in a state with established policies regarding online…

Providing general education curriculum for students in self-contained special needs classrooms, as mandated by federal laws, has been a challenge for educators. Utilizing the class work of general education students is an easy, no-cost way to bridge the curriculum gap and offers benefits to both general education and special education students. In…

Sharing thoughts on what represents significant advancements involving the education of persons for whom typical instruction is not effective seems simple enough. You think about the work you are engaged in and reflect on how you came to do what you are doing. If you have a record of being persistent in your work, then that becomes the context for…

This article reports the findings from a qualitative study to understand the provision of electronic mentoring (e-mentoring) to support the educational persistence of students with disabilities at a two-year college in a large city in the U.S. South. Building upon a five-year project at three postsecondary institutions and three secondary school…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers and their supporting team (e.g., parents) with an understanding of the implications of blended and virtual learning for students with disabilities. To support these students, it is important to have an understanding of the manner in which a significant majority of blended and virtual learning is…

Technology can help transform learning when used with innovative instructional approaches such as those outlined in the National Education Technology Plan. Yet many schools, particularly high-need schools, lack the connectivity, resources, and support for teachers and leaders needed to implement digital learning strategies. The President's…

Students with disabilities are included in the nearly two million students who attend school online (Queen & Lewis, 2011). Like many families, parents of children with disabilities are increasingly considering online schools as an option for their child's education. Online schools may be more attractive to parents of students with disabilities…

Providing pre-service early childhood general educators with a strong knowledge base of key aspects of early childhood special education is essential in the United States as US federal law mandates it. Specifically, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) stipulates that children with special needs must to be placed in the least…

An increasing number of colleges and universities are moving toward online education (Allen & Seaman, 2011; Farnsworth & Bevis, 2006). While there are reservations about the effectiveness of teaching sexuality education online, it is essential that formally trained sexuality educators participate proactively in this paradigm shift. By embracing…

The purpose of this qualitative study was three-fold. First, the purpose was to identify instructional strategies implemented by a virtual public high school to serve students with disabilities. Second, the purpose of this study was to show how the curriculum for students with disabilities developed in a virtual public school in a southeastern…

Anecdotal reports indicate that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often preoccupied with television, computers, and video games (screen-based media). However, few studies have examined this issue. The current study examined screen-based media use among a large, nationally representative sample of youths participating in the…